Bert Tilsley
Herbert Harrison "Bert" Tilsley was a character from 1979 to Ep 2329 - 27 Jul 1983 . He was the first husband of Ivy Brennan, who remarried 4 years after Bert died. Bert was quite cheerful but his redundancy lead him to depression. He was played by Peter Dudley. Bert was originally called Jack Tilsley, and an actor, ironically called Bert, Bert Gaunt, played Jack in 1975. Biography Backstory Herbert Harrison Tilsley was born in 1935. He had a brother Trevor Tilsley and 2 sisters Ethel Tilsley and Doris Tilsley. Ethel later emigrated to Australia and met Mr Latimer and they had a son Ian Latimer. Bert married Ivy Nelson in 1956. They had a son Brian John Tilsley on the 16th October 1958. Due to difficulties with the birth, Ivy was unable to have any more children but was pleased she had her healthy baby son Brian. Bert was known as Jack and Arthur. His physical appearance even magically changed inbetween 1975-1979. 1979-1984 Bert and Ivy Tilsley moved into Number 5 Coronation Street in November 1979. Bert was a handyman at a foundry. His son Brian begun dating Gail Potter and in December 1980, Bert became a grandfather to baby Nicholas Paul Tilsley. Bert was made redundant from his job. In July 1983, his son Brian took him on doing odd jobs as his garage. While Brian was away, Bert blew up a tyre but the tyre suffered a blow out, knocking Bert out. Bert was taken to hospital. He discharged himself after a few days but went missing and suffered mental illness. He was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Southport and later passed away on the 16th January 1984 aged 48. Legacy Behind the Scenes *Ivy's backstory and life had received a few noble retcons throughout her time in the 1970s, prior to becoming a regular character. The character would refer to her husband's name as Arthur, Wilf and later Jack (who actually appeared for 2 episodes in 1975). It wasn't until 1979 when she had moved into the street with a new husband named Bert, along with their son Brian (who appeared at the end of 1978) even though it was previously mentioned in 1975 that Ivy had no children. It isn't confirmed whether or not "Jack Tilsley" who appeared in 1975 is considered to be the Bert character. *Bert's catchphrase, uttered 3 or 4 times an episode was 'You know what I mean?', this disappeared from his vocabulary after his stroke. Memorable info Born: 8th June 1935 Died: 16th January 1984 Parents: Siblings: Trevor Tilsley, Ethel Latimer Spouse: Ivy Nelson (1956-1984) Children: Brian Tilsley (1958) Grandchildren: Nick Tilsley, Sarah Louise Platt Great Grandchildren: Bethany Platt, Billy Platt, Harry Platt Nephews: Ian Latimer Trivia Bert's year of birth is said to be 1935. However when he died in January 1984, Mike Baldwin commented on his age saying "53 hey"? when asking a question. This must have been Bert's age at death. This would make him born 1930 or 1931. Some sources state that his sister was Veronica while others say Ethel. Category:Coronation Street Characters. Category:Past characters. Category:Characters first seen in 1979. Category:Characters last seen in 1983. Category:Tilsleys. Category:1935 births. Category:1956 marriages. Category:1984 deaths. Category:Deceased characters Category:Characters who died offscreen